The dark-red power brought forth by the Darkest Day shone against the pure white light of ice and snow, the two radiances interweaving and tangling together. Dark clouds spread outward from the tundra toward mainland Galar, activating a vast number of Power Spots. Even the massive den outside Hammerlocke, long since collapsed and buried beneath the ancient watchtower, was activated along with the rest.
The footage recorded by the ancient royal family—this "live broadcast"—was clearly transmitted to mainland Galar as well. People stared at their televisions in confusion, watching the proclamations of those royal celebrities. They also saw the raging disaster unfolding in the tundra.
Humans and Pokémon, legendary heroes and kings, the great red dragon and the legendary wings were locked in fierce battle. More importantly, those disasters were not happening only in the distant hidden realm of the tundra. Mainland Galar was experiencing the same thing, and its people felt it firsthand.
"Gigantic Pokémon are rampaging all over near the towns!"
"The Corviknight have either fled, gone gigantic, or don't dare come out. Galar has lost its Corviknight. The legend came true!"
"Run! Evacuate to places without Power Spots!"
On this day, the people of Galar finally remembered the terror of once being harried and ruled by gigantic Pokémon.
Before controllable Dynamax was invented, there would occasionally be rampaging gigantic Pokémon.
In the official plot of Sword and Shield, the experiments triggered by Chairman Rose also caused wild Pokémon to Dynamax. Immediately afterward, Leon told the player to focus on taking on the Gyms and said he would handle the problem himself, taking the player's place in experiencing that part of the story.
Even now, with Dynamaxing already controllable, such incidents still occasionally happened.
Under these dangerous circumstances, people remembered the incantation Leon had shouted in the stadium.
If fear filled their hearts, then they should cry out that ancient spell.
Battanage, Battanage!
The gathered wishes would become a shining road of light. People fled their homes and cities, moving toward areas without Dynamax energy points. Towns that had once declined after losing vitality because of Dynamax—Spikemuth, for instance—suddenly became the first choice for refugees.
"Having Spikemuth prosper in this form is not exactly the result I wanted to see."
Piers said this with a dry comment after receiving the phone call.
Refugees and tourists were not the same. The former meant the situation was urgent. The latter meant everything was peaceful.
"Still, Spikemuth has no Power Spot, and neither does the area around it. I don't know what the Dynamax Pokémon are trying to do, but if they're just rampaging by instinct, they'll definitely head toward places with more energy points."
"Besides that... the various Gyms have also fallen."
On the other side of the call was Leon.
[They originally wanted to use Dynamax to suppress the rioting Dynamax Pokémon, but the result was that their own Dynamax Pokémon went berserk too. Even chanting Battanage didn't work.]
"Of course it didn't. How could a spell that dispels the darkness in people's hearts drive away physical Galar particles? Those are things of our land to begin with. That said, they used it because they listened to Chairman Rose's invitation before and pursued greater power, didn't they?"
[That... I don't know. But I know very clearly how to suppress violent Dynamaxing. You use that ball.]
"[Soul-Heart]. Unfortunately, that machine isn't here. Well, I heard it's a creation of mystical science. There's no way we could make one."
[Then I, who was suppressed by Soul-Heart before, will take responsibility. Although I'm no longer Champion now... saying this as a former Champion may hurt the others, but I believe that I alone can suppress their rampaging Pokémon without issue!]
[Also, you saw what was being broadcast on TV, right? I already asked the people at the television station what this strange TV program was about. It turns out those people calling themselves royals also have people inside the station...]
"I saw it." Piers's expression was extremely grave. "If I'd known Marnie would run into those lunatics, I definitely wouldn't have agreed to let her go to the Crown Tundra."
"Still, she performed well. Better than me, her big brother... I heard that in other regions, kids can start traveling and become excellent Trainers at ten years old. Maybe our region doesn't have to be so rigid about the age for the Gym Challenge."
[Not only that. I called home, and Mum said my brother went out too! Chasing after a Wooloo that left home... and Sonia!]
[After that, I immediately called my brother's Rotom Phone, but no one answered. When I called Sonia's number, the signal was extremely chaotic, but she and Hop are also in the Crown Tundra!]
Piers said, "I saw them. Sonia and Bea. They're in the footage filmed by the royal family... and now they're fighting!"
On Spikemuth's public television, one could see the live broadcast recorded by the royal family in the Crown Tundra. Although the tundra was a hidden realm, the existence of Freezington meant there was still internet access there.
Galar's industrial infrastructure was highly developed, and its technology ranked near the top among the regions. Add to that the series of advanced black-tech inventions made possible by Wishing Stars, and although the region had not yet entered the new age where Rotom Phones had signal anytime and anywhere, the events taking place in the tundra could still be watched from mainland Galar.
On the battlefield where the legendary wings ran wild, gigantic Pokémon rampaged, and heroes and a giant dragon fought, Sonia and Bea's figures appeared as well.
"This is a real mess. I suppose the footage from the scene was filmed by the royal researchers."
[Piers, where is the Crown Tundra? How far is it from here?]
"Hmm. You are terrible with directions, after all. The tundra should be farther south than your hometown. You've never been there, have you? Although I'm just as worried as you are right now, isn't another Champion over there too?"
"They went to the Crown Tundra to awaken an ancient Pokémon king and investigate the sword and shield legend while they were there. But the Darkest Day was awakened by the royal family and appeared in the tundra. Now we can be one hundred percent certain that the enormous claw covering the sky in the background of the broadcast is the true body of the Darkest Day!"
"Right now, the royal family wants to use Dynamax Pokémon to restore their authority and reclaim their former status. It's unbelievable that we can hear that kind of rhetoric in modern society."
"How are they controlling those Dynamax Pokémon and making them rampage across the tundra? Did a similar situation happen in Postwick too? What happened in the forest Hikaru and the others went to? The legendary heroes have appeared as well... This is complete chaos!"
"I think the final answer should be found at Macro Cosmos. Go find Ms. Oleana. She must be at the Energy Plant in Hammerlocke."
[...That's true.]
"Hm? Leon, the voice beside you..."
[I'm in Hammerlocke right now. I just knocked Raihan awake.]
On the other side, Leon and Raihan were standing together. After waking up from his earlier frenzy, Raihan held his head and felt rather unwell. But as Piers's close friend, Raihan naturally had to fulfill his responsibility as Hammerlocke's guardian—
By raiding the factory.
"These defensive facilities can't stop a kid who grew up in Hammerlocke!"
"Leon's finally using his head for once too, no longer following the rules like a good boy. So, Ms. Oleana, what exactly happened here? What transaction did Chairman Rose make with the ancient royal family?"
They looked at the Energy Plant, which was in ruins as though it had been attacked. It had nearly been destroyed completely.
"The Energy Plant has been destroyed. The remaining power is insufficient, and the energy conversion rate is dropping rapidly. Next, a major blackout may spread across all of Galar."
"Of course, the electricity won't disappear instantly. It will vanish one city after another, in sequence."
Oleana was leading Macro Cosmos employees in emergency repairs.
Facing the questions of the two powerful Trainers who had arrived here, she fell silent for a moment. In the end, she still answered.
"This was Chairman Rose's intention as well."
Leon said, "Then where is Chairman Rose?"
Oleana said, "The chairman went to the tundra."
Both of them froze at that answer.
"The ancient royal family's confidence in restoring their nation lies in the Remote Controls. Originally, this was a commercial secret of our corporation... but the chairman said that if Leon came to ask, there was no harm in telling him."
Oleana told them about the transaction Chairman Rose had made with President Black.
"...That is the situation."
"Sordward and Shielbert attacked this place and stole commercial secrets and analytical data. The ancient royal family also has its own researchers. Those people most likely infiltrated our corporation, which is how they entered this place without anyone noticing."
"Eternatus must have escaped because of that as well."
Raihan said, "A machine that can control Pokémon at will?! You actually bought something that dangerous! And you locked the true body of the Darkest Day here and fed it? Even if you say it was for Galar's energy and society... Mm."
Oleana said, "Precisely because society must continue functioning normally, we had to do this."
"And purchasing that technology was also for the purpose of better understanding and controlling Dynamax. We exchanged our own energy conversion technology for a new energy conversion technology, along with technology that can freely control Pokémon. That was part of the transaction."
Leon said, "In short, a massive blackout may happen next, right? That's terrible. If something like that happens, Galar's entire social system will collapse. Isn't this basically personally pushing ourselves into a dead end?"
"I have to handle the riots at the other Gyms. The Gym Leaders who lost control of their own Pokémon can't even protect their own cities now!"
Raihan said, "No problem. You go handle the other Gyms. Leave Hammerlocke to the great me!"
"Man, battling without Dynamax like Piers and settling the winner that way... How many years has it been since I was a kid?"
"No way to tell day from night, no electricity, no lights. This is the land born from the Darkest Day."
Galar without electricity and energy was just like the world of mid-industrialization that older people spoke of. However, electric lights had illuminated this world for many years already. This was the first region to industrialize.
And now, it seemed it was about to return to a purely pastoral age.
People were evacuating as well. Their bustling voices, along with the royal family's deranged broadcast visible everywhere, made them witness the chaos of the tundra too.
The great blackout began.
Televisions could no longer be used. Red pillars of light had already spread throughout the world.
Fortunately, people still had their Rotom Phones.
But aside from the royal family's channel, no other channels or news could be seen.
One city after another fell into darkness. Power ran short. Factories stopped. Machines could not operate. Drainage clogged. Production and transportation could not be maintained.
Pokémon Centers and the storage system could not operate either.
Especially because Galar was a high-latitude region, when winter arrived, this extreme cold descended equally upon everyone.
The Trainers who had gone to the tundra, including the current Champion who had just defeated Leon, were all over there.
But if everyone was in the tundra, who would protect mainland Galar?
People thought this, and then, atop the tower in Hammerlocke, they saw a burning red dragon of flame soar into the air. The heat and blazing fire it breathed swept across the sky.
A gigantic Pokémon was defeated.
In this pitch-black, lightless long night, the red dragon became a burning meteor streaking across the sky.
"The pride of Galar!"
The citizens' originally frightened and uneasy hearts instantly cast aside their terror the moment they saw Leon appear.
"Leon! It's Leon!"
"The unbeatable Champion! The strongest Champion!"
Champions would not disappear. They would be inherited, generation after generation.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
The flames in the sky marked the path forward. On the ground on another side, smoke-belching antiques were put back into use.
What appeared on the railway from Motostoke was not a modern powered train, but a steam locomotive puffing clouds of vapor.
Gym Leader Kabu's voice rang out from the locomotive.
"Take the steam train across the Wild Area! People in the north, head to Spikemuth! People in the south, head to Turffield and Postwick!"
Once an incident of this scale occurred, in order to avoid future disasters, those in power would usually propose urban redevelopment to prevent population loss.
And so the thought of migration was planted in the hearts of some Galarian people. Perhaps they really should head to another peaceful and quiet region.
For example, Kalos across the sea?
——————————
Eternatus's giant claws trembled continuously. The freezing blizzard and the silver-white king's holy spear had struck its vital point.
The strongest move displayed under Eternamax had actually been torn apart so easily. That monarch riding the white horse...
Was this a three-thousand-year grudge?
Had its past-era self, after absorbing energy from all of Galar, fought fiercely against that being?
But if so, why had it not absorbed the giant Wishing Star here at the time?
Or perhaps it had lacked much wisdom back then, so many things were not remembered. It was also possible that battle had taken place across space-time. After all, stars would descend before life-forms that truly prayed for strength.
They granted those life-forms immense power, and gave certain Pokémon the evolutionary posture of Gigantamax.
The largest, the fiercest, the strongest.
Eternatus strained to stretch out its claws. Endless power surged from the core of its body.
It would use infinite energy to fight the faith of seven lands.
[Max Wyrmwind!]
Eternatus used a Max Move. At that moment, this strongest cavalry riding a white horse gave it a sense of crisis even more terrifying than the sword and shield heroes.
Blue psychic light surged over Calyrex's body, different in color from the light used by other Psychic-type Pokémon. This was one of Calyrex's distinctive traits.
Then the mountains began to rumble. The heavy white snow seemed to become the weapon of this king of wind and snow.
Slaying the "giant" upon the holy mountain.
The snowy mountains of the tundra where the Wishing Star had once fallen, the nameless cave covered by ten thousand years of accumulated snow—Calyrex turned that snow into weapons.
[Avalanche!]
If the user has been hit and damaged by the opponent's move, Avalanche's power doubles.
"The Crown Tundra is always in a state of snowfall."
"If it is [Hail], Pokémon other than Ice-types take continuous damage. The power of light-type moves decreases, and Blizzard is guaranteed to hit."
"If it is [Snow], the Defense of Ice-type Pokémon is multiplied by 1.5."
In side games, it would also increase the move power of Ice- and Steel-type Pokémon by 20%.
If a heavy snow event was triggered, it would increase all stats of Ice-type Pokémon by 1.1 times and raise morale to its maximum.
At the same time, in ancient worlds such as the Hisui era—
Under snow.
The chance for additional effects that inflict frostbite through moves is multiplied by 2. The chance of being unable to act while drowsy is multiplied by 2. The Speed of Ice-type Pokémon rises.
However, the White Horse King's Speed was not high to begin with. Raising it a little was meaningless. It would be more practical to simply set up Trick Room.
The key point was the [frostbite] effect.
A status condition from Legends: Arceus.
A Pokémon afflicted with frostbite has the damage of its non-fixed-damage special moves halved.
It also loses one-sixteenth of its HP at the end of the turn.
When snow is present on the field, Pokémon are more likely to be affected by frostbite.
Moreover, in that era, moves like Blizzard traded away 10 points of power in exchange for a normal frostbite chance as high as 30%. Considering this was frostbite rather than freeze, it was not as overpowering as Generation I Blizzard, where being frozen meant it could not be removed.
However, if it was used in a place like the Crown Tundra—
Although frostbite was not freeze, the two were originally replacements for each other.
Even Dynamax Pokémon would suffer status conditions. Eternatus could not escape either.
If a move like Blizzard were used, the additional frostbite chance would rise to 60%, while the freeze chance would be 20%.
Although it still could not return to the Generation I level of a 30% "invincible freeze," for an obnoxious status like freeze, a 20% chance was already extremely terrifying.
And now, the wonderful little item had arrived.
Hikaru took out the mysterious ornament.
Field condition—Rainbow!
Or rather, the special condition that could be triggered by using Water Pledge and Fire Pledge at the same time. It doubled the chance of additional effects appearing when moves were used.
"Stop it! Hurry, stop that horse-riding Pokémon!"
Sordward and Shielbert, frightened by the shining spear, along with the other royal celebrities who had fled far away in panic after being scared by the shockwaves from the giant Pokémon, tried to use the Portable Remote to control the nearby gigantic Pokémon and block the king.
"What king?! We are the only true royal family! Where did this new king come from?!"
"Don't joke with me! Who is this thing? A Pokémon summoned by that traveler?!"
[Mm-hmm! This is Alola's rainbow light!]
Calyrex saw the rainbow appear at the edge of the sky and felt a strange power. It was neither an ordinary terrain move nor a specific weather condition.
Rainbow, swamp, and sea of fire were three special combined phenomena.
Calyrex rode its warhorse. Only in its white horse form could it control wind and snow, so fighting in the tundra was extremely advantageous. Even though its Special Attack was not high—
The White Horse King closed its eyes, and blue psychic power surged violently around it.
[Calm Mind!]
It raised its own Special Attack and Special Defense. Then, under the rainbow's illumination—
["Blizzard!"]
It was as though the sky had been torn open. Endless white snow swept across the entire sky, swallowing the world in boundless whiteness, hiding the outlines of distant mountains, roaring like a savage beast, filling the entire world as it stretched from the mountain's edge to the far ends of heaven and earth.
The Dynamax Pokémon were buried in white snow and frozen solid.
Sordward said, "They're frozen! How could this happen? Gigantic Pokémon were frozen?!"
The scene before them was horrifying.
Not only the powerful Pokémon controlled by the Remote Controls—
Even Galarian Zapdos and Galarian Articuno were sealed in ice.
Shielbert said, "The legendary wings—the legendary wings were frozen too?! Hurry up and move!"
He slammed the buttons on the Portable Remote.
"They're supposed to be little-known Pokémon that live in the tundra! One of them is even called [Articuno], and yet it got frozen? What is this?!"
Hikaru said, "Zapdos has no Electric type. Articuno has no Ice type."
"Therefore, although they are also legendary wings, they are different species from the legendary birds of other regions. Convergent evolution—or perhaps regional forms. Fascinating, isn't it?"
Hikaru said, "Even while frozen, they can still use Dynamax, but they cannot remove the freeze. Even if they expand into Dynamax, they will immediately be covered and sealed by ice and snow again. Although Dynamax grants immunity to certain status changes, it has no resistance to status conditions."
"The gigantic Pokémon have all been frozen solid, and frostbite has been inflicted as well!"
"The Portable Remote should be about done too, right? Its output power is falling!"
Sordward and Shielbert froze. Shielbert immediately checked the output power displayed on the Portable Remote.
"What...? How could this be? Isn't this maximum output?"
"The machine is malfunctioning. This is a high-grade item embedded with crystal fragments... The commands aren't working?!"
It was like a game controller suddenly refusing to obey. Shielbert slammed the buttons and pushed the stick, only to discover that the number of commands available on the Portable Remote had dropped. Some commands could no longer be tested.
Affected by this, the controlled Sword King also showed disorder in its movements. As for the other frozen Pokémon, they were completely unable to move.
"Eternatus! Control Eternatus! Use Flamethrower to remove the frozen status!"
Originally, Sordward and Shielbert did not understand what moves Eternatus could use. But Rose's investigative report contained this information, so they had learned about the powers Eternatus had once used.
Poison, flame, dragon. However, as the legendary largest, strongest, and fiercest creature, it was basic common sense that a giant dragon could use various elemental moves.
"[Eternatus]! Obey our command and use [Flamethrower]!"
The two looked toward the distant high sky.
However, the ultra-gigantic Poison Dragon had no intention of responding. It was simply locked in a brutal battle with Calyrex as Calyrex leapt across the sky.
"No good! It isn't obeying orders! It only has that Pokémon called the king in its eyes!"
"It's disobeying orders to defeat the king. Is Eternatus's power too great, or... no, it must be the remote malfunctioning! Could this remote-control device be defective?"
"The product sold to us—or to Macro Cosmos—was a castrated version."
"No, Brother, that's called an export model. It might also be a magnetic field issue."
Sordward and Shielbert's hairstyles were a mess. Then, a dark airflow appeared beside them, and the command display on the Portable Remote turned completely into gibberish.
Electromagnetic interference. But this was not a move. It was caused by the ecological traits of a certain Pokémon.
"Klinklang, use Magnetic Flux to repair this machine!"
Sordward and Shielbert also had a Pokémon related to magnetism: Klinklang. Before Professor Juniper and Professor Cedric Juniper of the Unova region had completed a precise investigation into the origins of the Klink line—
During the Industrial Revolution, the Klinklang line had already possessed a very long history in Galar.
Especially its second-stage form before evolution, Klang.
It was regarded as a symbol of industrial technology, and many local Galarian companies chose it as their corporate logo.
However, the Klinklang line was an extremely typical Pokémon line affected by magnetism. In the Unova region, they inhabited Chargestone Cave. But if the magnetism in Chargestone Cave became abnormal, the Klinklang line would display strange reactions.
Hikaru's voice contained no mockery, but Sordward and Shielbert still heard the sigh within it, as well as that "perfectly timed" explanation.
"There is a Pokémon whose powerful magnetism circulates constantly in place of blood."
"If angered, not only will it go on a rampage, it will also release powerful magnetism that destroys machinery."
"In ice and snow, this Pokémon's power rises even higher!"
A blue iron comet appeared beside them.
Klinklang spun its gears. Beldum expelled power and charged directly into Klinklang's transmission assembly.
Bang!
The sturdy Beldum jammed itself into the key point of Klinklang's gear rotation. Unable to turn, Klinklang could not generate magnetism.
And that was not all.
"Dum."
After a brief, cold, merciless calculation—
Beldum judged that exploding now would be beneficial.
Beldum's [Steel Beam]!
The Portable Remote displayed maximum power output. Under the bombardment of the steel explosion, it immediately malfunctioned.
The machine exploded.
Sordward, Shielbert, and even Klinklang were blasted away. Beldum's magnetism affected Klinklang's movements, and the intense silver radiance and shockwave knocked everyone around them over.
Shielbert said, "The Portable... the Portable Remote! Brother, it hurts!"
Sordward said, "Indeed, dear brother. I'm bleeding! We had become miserable before, but this time, it feels like my bones are broken!"
"It appeared behind us and attacked. This creature is... related to magnetism. Could it be a Steel-type—"
"Magnetism affected the maximum output power. What is that Pokémon?"
It did not exist in mainland Galar. It only inhabited Snowslide Slope in the Crown Tundra.
Therefore, even the royal family had never seen Beldum.
To put it simply, characters from the base game were not qualified to stand as equals beside DLC Pokémon.
Shielbert looked at Hikaru, fear piercing through his skull.
"Y-You... who exactly are you? Why did you appear in the Galar region, the place that we royals were supposed to restore and rule!"
"Our entire plan failed because of this coincidence! You should never have appeared in Galar's spectator stands!"
Sordward's face was full of terror. "Unbelievable. We, celebrities and nobles, have become this wretched. Failure after failure. This is an illusion. This must be an illusion, right? If you weren't here, if none of this had happened, we... we would have become heroes already!"
Hikaru said, "The local climate of different regions allows different Pokémon to survive and settle."
"Even within the same region, mountains and terrain cause climates to vary greatly and influence the appearance of specific Pokémon."
"If frauds can become heroes... then where does the difference between imitation and the real thing lie?"
Sordward and Shielbert felt boundless terror. They retreated again and again, stumbling, blasted so badly they could barely stand. Even so, driven by extreme fear, they continued running deeper into the tundra.
"Brother, run! Hurry up and run! If this is a nightmare, please wake up already!"
"Dear brother, we... we must leave this place! We are not frauds, not frauds!"
——————
"Awooo—"
Zacian's Behemoth Blade and Aegislash's Sacred Sword slashed against each other, their blades throwing sparks.
The world in Zacian's eyes turned hazily. That golden great shield could not be broken through. That golden greatsword was incomparably sharp.
What a fine sword.
Even while being controlled, Zacian could not suppress such fragmented thoughts. In order to keep fighting that sword, she wanted to continue crossing blades until her stamina was exhausted.
However, her younger brother's shield kept interfering. That even more powerful shield could now block all attacks. Two shields pincered her from left and right, forcing Zacian to look back and forth, unable to decide which side to point her blade toward.
This side faces the enemy?
Where was the enemy?!
There were actually two beings in this world that her sword could not cut. The uncontrollable desire to fight powerful opponents to the end continued to surge within her.
[An opening!]
Zamazenta leapt upward. A tremendously powerful Behemoth Bash slammed her completely to the ground.
With the Portable Remote's control gone, the golden spiral disappeared. The controlled Zacian was finally exhausted, and her movements suddenly stopped.
Clang!
The Rusted Sword fell from her mouth, and her Sword King form was released along with it.
[Sister! Are you all right?]
Although immediately asking his older sister if she was okay after having just dealt her a heavy blow made him seem a little scummy, Zamazenta naturally knew that if he had not defeated his sister, she would have kept swinging her sword until every last bit of stamina was drained.
Wouldn't that have put her in even greater danger?
[Thank you, Aegislash! That golden greatsword truly is powerful. To think it could clash head-on against Behemoth Blade. How should I put it? As expected of a Pokémon with stories passed down even here in Galar. But this is the first time I have ever seen an Aegislash as strong as you.]
Zamazenta was also astonished by Aegislash's golden form, and at the same time, a strange thought came to him.
[You possess the offensive "Sacred Sword," the defensive "King's Shield," as well as the unique "Stance Change" and "Power Trick." You know, aren't you the one who should be called the sword-and-shield Pokémon? Though you are still missing a scabbard, aren't you?]
Aegislash said, [A scabbard? I lost that after evolving.]
[I learned Sacred Sword from the legendary Swords of Justice. I once successfully passed their test as well. My golden state is called the king's posture, but I cannot learn Behemoth Blade.]
[Behemoth Blade is a same-type move! What Steel lacks is exactly this kind of ultimate high-power technique!]
Aegislash was somewhat excited and emotional.
[Long ago, I was sold as a treasure and heard the sword legend of Behemoth Blade. Now I have come here and finally made my pilgrimage to the Sword King! The legendary Rusted Sword... Haah. To be able to battle such a king, I have no regrets!]
Aegislash remembered exactly how many times Behemoth Blade had struck it.
Truly, it was too moving.
Zamazenta watched Aegislash make an odd low, laughing hum and was momentarily speechless.
A battle-worn shield was a symbol of a hero. That said, why did this one seem a little perverted? What was with it getting happier the more it was hit by his sister?
[All right. I hope you can learn my sister's Behemoth Blade. But the Rusted Sword is damaged. Should we have those two knights help reforge it here?]
[But what are the Swords of Justice? I have never heard of them. Are they Pokémon who fight with swords, just like my sister?]
Zamazenta came to Zacian's side and nudged her up. Zacian let out a low whimper.
From resisting the Galar particles and her body's attacking instinct in the Slumbering Weald, to fighting the Dynamaxed legendary wings at Dyna Tree Hill—
Without the Rusted Sword, she could not use Behemoth Blade, and because of that, she had been defeated. Then she had been controlled by those people of the ancient royal family and forced into a form change.
She had shattered the shield and injured her younger brother. But fortunately, in the end—
They had finally found the smith who shaped the Noble Phantasms. The divine shield had defeated the steel-cutting sword, just like the unbreakable walls of Hammerlocke. Those walls had once protected humans and Pokémon when the Darkest Day occurred.
Thankfully, Zamazenta had become stronger than before.
Come to think of it, this was like a little story the king of the people had once murmured about.
If there truly was a wish-granting thing in the world that could bring an abundant feast to all knights—
Then only one pure knight could find it.
[This is not the land of ideals.]
In Zacian's exhausted eyes, the world from three thousand years ago appeared hazily. Back then, the skies and earth had been just as dark, and the same great red dragon had existed.
The strong had fought together with the king of the people. But before that, this region had already fallen into a state close to destruction. The old world had vanished, and only then had a new ideal world been established.
In that ideal new world, heroes were not needed. That was why the sword and shield had hidden themselves away.
Time passed.
The ideals of the past were buried too, and the descendants of the king of the people had become like this.
The white-horse monarch who had frozen earth and sky raised his hooves.
Zacian saw Calyrex's charge.
Within the mountains of Galar slept the eternal king. When Galar faced life and death, the High King would surely awaken.
[Calyrex...]
A king bestowed weapons upon heroes, but the king himself was also one of the bearers of legendary weapons.
The white warhorse leapt through the sky with psychic power. The pure white great spear struck out once more, heavily wounding the Darkest Day dragon in the heavens.
Zacian felt that she should do something, even if she was exhausted.
She looked toward Aegislash, and the latter floated forward.
It took out a small pouch filled with dust.
Zacian froze slightly.
[That is "Sacred Ash."]
Zamazenta told Zacian, [It was left behind by the red knight who used Sacred Fire when the new shield was forged at the Split-Decision Ruins. I heard it is a power inherited from a Pokémon called Ho-Oh.]
[Sacred Ash can heal any wound. It is something used to revive fallen Pokémon.]
Dust scattered over Zacian's body, and embers began to burn. The sacred flame seemed ready to forge her body anew. Though she was wrapped in fire, she unexpectedly felt no pain. Instead, she gradually filled with strength.
She looked at Aegislash, a strange brilliance in her eyes.
[You were truly strong just now. Although you came here because you admired me, from my perspective, your blade is already capable of breaking through my body. I, too, am honored to be remembered by a sword such as you.]
[Swords and swords are drawn to each other. That must be what this means. Let my sword and you become one.]
[However, what exactly are these Swords of Justice you mentioned? If they are swordsmen, then that means you can fight as... a "sword," correct? Aegislash does indeed have legends of founding nations and destroying them. I think those legends probably refer to powerful special individuals like you.]
[If you are willing... come with me.]
[I will teach you the true "Behemoth Blade"!]
————————
Below the mountain—
People ran out of the cave and entered the chaotic battlefield in the distance, defeating the rampaging, terrified Pokémon and the royal researchers.
"So this is the Portable Remote—"
Bea seized the researcher holding a camera and Portable Remote. After defeating their handheld Pokémon as well as the Pokémon they controlled, she and Sonia had run all the way here from Snowslide Slope.
"Ms. Bea?! Why are you here?"
Marnie had also defeated the nearly spent Galarian Moltres. Since she was the only one present with a Dynamax Band, after throwing an enlarged ball, she captured the bird burning with ominous flames inside a Dusk Ball.
Dusk Ball: a Poké Ball that makes it easier to catch Pokémon at night or in dark places such as caves.
[If the current location is a cave, Newmoon Island, or the current time is night or the Darkest Day, the catch rate is multiplied by 3!]
"What is that bird? It's black and burning with flames!"
Bea saw the defeated black bird and was quite shocked, but she did not keep asking. She would eventually learn about that matter anyway. Instead, she answered Marnie's question.
"The mountain was shaking, and the cave was about to collapse. Professor Burnet also told us we could not stay inside anymore!"
"She said a strange wavelength appeared deep in the den and told us to flee immediately. But luckily, we found that. Look, this Pokémon!"
Bea looked behind her. In Sonia's arms was a trembling gaseous Pokémon shaped like a nebula.
"So cute. Is this the Pokémon called Nebby? It doesn't look like a creature connected to legend no matter how I look at it."
"Professor Burnet seems to be looking through documents." Sonia's expression still held lingering fright. "Apparently, even in the Alola region, very few people know this part of the legend. She went to Malie Library to investigate. Uh, I don't know where that library is, but we came out first! The mission... the mission is complete, right?"
Sonia herself could not be certain whether the mission was complete. She kept feeling that there might be something else inside.
That was only natural.
Sonia would not know.
In the Alola region, those who knew the legend of the nebula were only the four island guardians, Acerola as a descendant of Alolan royalty, Sofu, the island kahuna of Poni Island, and Hapu, the next island kahuna.
Although Malie Library had legends about Solgaleo and Lunala, it did not say that they evolved from the Star Child.
[Cosmog is an extremely rare Pokémon. Even in Alola, only some people know of its existence.]
[In the past, Cosmog was known as the "Star Child," and only the king of Alola and his heirs knew about it. The Aether Foundation is studying this rare Pokémon. The name Cosmog was only given by the foundation's doctors in recent years.]
The Aether Foundation had captured the Star Child only because it valued its ability to open Ultra Wormholes. As for its true identity... only if someone from the Ultra Recon Squad appeared would the Aether Foundation gain an understanding of this Pokémon.
"What a huge blizzard. Is that the king in the sky?"
"Oh, right. There seems to be a massive blackout happening on mainland Galar!"
Everyone saw the blue-white battle spear shining in the sky. A silver meteor crossed the heavens, spanning all eighty-eight constellations and piercing the Poison Dragon's tendrils one after another.
Eternatus's emotions shook like a roller coaster.
It had clearly absorbed another giant Wishing Star. It had clearly obtained the power of Galar's land. Yet it was still inferior to the white king before it.
That thing clearly did not have a move that dealt double damage to gigantic Pokémon.
Was Glacial Lance really this absurd?
And this creature was also ridiculously durable. It was clearly an Ice-type Pokémon, and Ice-types were supposed to be frail. Even so-called solid ice was not that hard.
Iron Defense, Calm Mind, and Mist to prevent stat drops. It even had Giga Drain?!
Even 250 defenses and 255 HP could not hold out?
Of course, Eternatus was shocked, but Calyrex was even more shocked.
The invincible power of faith was rapidly weakening.
[Fame gradually declines as time passes, and that affects my abilities. I can feel it. Although faith from distant regions still exists, here in Galar, that faith is disappearing.]
[What has happened...? Mm? A great blackout?!]
(End of Chapter)
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